Private OpenHAB Cloud and Alexa Skill Tutorial

Introduction

This tutorial guides users through setting up their own private OpenHAB Cloud instance and integrating it with an Amazon Alexa Skill. The objective is to enhance control over home automation systems, offering an alternative to relying solely on public services. The document consolidates the author's practical experience, essential resources, and recommendations for a successful setup.

Disclaimer: The author's insights are based on end-user experience, and the guide may contain errors or suggest methods that can be improved upon.

Environments Used

• OpenHAB Cloud hosted on an AWS EC2 (t2.micro) instance running Ubuntu 20.04.
• OpenHAB server running on a Raspberry Pi 3B with Openhabian 2.5.7-1.

OpenHAB Cloud Setup Summary

1. Set up a Virtual Private Server (e.g., AWS EC2 with Ubuntu 20.04), including SSH authentication, static IP, firewall rules, domain registration, and DNS configuration. Key references include OpenHAB Community and GitHub README.
2. Update and install necessary system dependencies.
3. Install Node.js (version 7.10.1) and NPM. Resources for version management: SurrealCMS, Stack Overflow.
4. Clone and configure the OpenHAB-cloud codebase.
5. Configure Nginx for initial setup and testing.
6. Install Let's Encrypt and Certbot for obtaining and auto-renewing HTTPS certificates. See Certbot documentation.
7. Configure Nginx specifically for OpenHAB Cloud, then start and test the service.
8. Apply a patch to prevent unauthorized user registrations on the private server.
9. Set up the OpenHAB Cloud instance to run as a system service.

Note: The initial setup of the VPS, firewall, domain, and DNS is assumed to be covered by external documentation. This tutorial commences with step 2 of the OpenHAB Cloud setup.

Alexa Skill Setup Summary

1. Create an AWS Developer account.
2. Generate an AWS Access Key.
3. Create a Security Profile within the AWS Developer Console.
4. Create a new Security Role (this step might be automated during skill deployment).
5. Install the Alexa Skills Kit Command Line Interface (ASK-CLI).
6. Configure and deploy the Alexa Skill. Relevant links: Alexa Smart Home Skill Migration, OpenHAB Alexa GitHub, Alexa Account Linking.
7. Set up Account Linking and Login with Amazon. Access the console via Alexa Developer Console.